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Monday, June 25, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


Significant sea-level rise in a two-degree warmer world

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT

Even if global warming is limited to two degrees Celsius, global mean sea level could continue to rise, reaching between 1.5 and four meters above present-day levels by the year 2300, with the best estimate being at 2.7 meters, according to a new study. However, emissions reductions that allow warming to drop below 1.5 degrees Celsius could limit the rise strongly.

Climate change and the South Asian summer monsoon

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT

The vagaries of South Asian summer monsoon rainfall impact the lives of more than one billion people. This review of the most recent research concludes that with continued rise in CO2 the region can expect generally more rainfall due to the expected increase in atmospheric moisture stemming from global warming, as well as more variability in rainfall. Regional projections for devastating droughts and floods, however, are still beyond the reach of current climate models.

From the mouths of monkeys: Swab technique spots tuberculosis in non-human primates

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 04:59 PM PDT

A new technique detected the first published evidence of tuberculosis pathogens in the mouths of macaques living near people in six Asian countries. The method analyses mouth swabs from monkeys to check for tuberculosis DNA. The findings raise the question of interspecies transmission, but the origin of these infections is uncertain. However, the risk of spread to people appears minimal. The test could help protect the health of the world's primate populations.

Environmental estrogens affect early developmental activity in zebrafish

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 04:56 PM PDT

New research reveals that environmental estrogens may influence human and animal development at the very beginning stages of embryonic development, which is earlier than previously realized.

Rice blast infection mechanism uncovered

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT

Scientists have made a new discovery that they hope might lead to effective control of rice blast disease. Rice blast is the most serious disease of cultivated rice and affects all the rice-growing regions of the world, causing losses of up to 30 percent of the global rice harvest.

Fisheries: How much government regulation should there be?

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT

Scientists are engaging in a verbal battle with the federal government over its budget cuts and legislative changes in departments with environmental responsibilities, on a powerful stage.

New data and methods show emissions from tropical deforestation lower than previously estimated

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT

Researchers have developed an estimate of gross carbon emissions from tropical deforestation for the early 2000s that is considerably lower than other recently published estimates.

Some forecasters predict second-smallest Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone'

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:13 PM PDT

A dry spring in portions of the Midwest is expected to result in the second-smallest Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" on record in 2012, according to a newly released forecast.

New deglaciation data opens door for earlier First Americans migration

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 11:13 AM PDT

A new study of lake sediment cores from Sanak Island in the western Gulf of Alaska suggests that deglaciation there from the last Ice Age took place as much as 1,500 to 2,000 years earlier than previously thought, opening the door for earlier coastal migration models for the Americas.

Origin of limbs in the evolutionary lineage of vertebrates

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 09:54 AM PDT

A chromosomal rearrangement in the genome could be the genetic base of the origin of limbs in vertebrates, according to a new research.

Assertiveness is the best form of defense, at least for hyena pups

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:26 AM PDT

A new scientific study shows for the first time in spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) twin litters, that success in sibling competition for maternal milk is influenced by training effects, sex and hunger, and that dominant siblings exert incomplete control over their littermate's access to the resource.

Luteal development and pregnancy in elephants

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:26 AM PDT

Researchers have found which mechanisms are responsible that elephants have the longest pregnancy in the world. With up to 680 days their pregnancy is longer than in any other mammal studied so far.

Black brant geese show lifetime relationship good for goose and gander

Posted: 20 Jun 2012 07:10 AM PDT

Not all birds mate for life, but for those species that do, wildlife biologists have found a clear benefit to the birds from such long-term relationships: Greater longevity and breeding success, according to a new study.

Sustainable denim manufacturing process creates 'green' jeans

Posted: 19 Jun 2012 09:37 AM PDT

An emerging green chemistry process can produce a pair of denim jeans using up to 92 percent less water and up to 30 percent less energy than conventional denim manufacturing methods, scientists have reported. In addition, the process generates up to 87 percent less cotton waste (which is often burned, adding carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere) and virtually no wastewater.

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